Pippin
by CareFreeHugz
Summary: With powers he feels are freakish, a mother who he described to be the best in the world, a step-father who neglects the emotional needs of others and a spoilt older brother who does nothing but bully him, one of his only wishes is for him to be able to say one thing truthfully; "I'm fine." ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

Looking up at him, the man stared with wide eyes as blood rushed loudly in his ears to the beat of his heart. His gaze wavered, flickering down to the man who now lay face down against the rough asphalt ground; a brick splattered with blood next to his head while a gun lay just a few feet shy of the body.

A bullet resting at the feet of the would-be victim.

* * *

Fifteen, almost sixteen, Pippin just wanted to make his way through life which has proven to be a difficult task; his biggest dream is to forget ll his worries.

With powers he feels are freakish, a mother who he described to be the best in the world, a step-father who neglects the emotional needs of others and a spoilt older brother who does nothing but bully him, one of his only wishes is for him to be able to say one thing truthfully;

 _"I'm fine."_


	2. Chapter One

His name is Pippin, and he is almost sixteen.

His name is the old Germanic form of Pépin, the name possibly meaning "awe-inspiring" from Frankish bib- "to tremble". This was the name of three major-domos of Austrasia including Pépin III the short, who became the first Carolingian king of the Franks.

But that wasn't why the name was given to him, and even then, that definition wasn't well known to most. But what is known for, he for the character by the name of Peregrin took, also known as Pippin. It was a name made popular in the nineteen fifty-four novels, _Lord of the Rings_. His name represented more than a character though, and he cherished that.

In a semi-translation into English, the hobbit name is Razanur which means "traveller". Which is the very reason why he was given the name.

While his mother's name, is a name that means grace and beauty, which is exactly what he thought her to be. Anabella. Her light brown hair, which was now dyed in her insecurity of grey hair, and her eyes a brilliant shade of blue which he wished he had inherited. His name represented what she said was to be one of the greatest times of her life, and that was her first rein of freedom.

As she had been unhappily married, which till this day she is still unhappy with, and already had two children. Her two sons, his brothers; Bruno and Rocco.

Bruno, a brute of a man, currently working as a personal trainer by day and a busboy by night. A master of manipulation, and often attempts to control as many aspects of other family members lives; he frightened Pipping as he was physically abusive at times, and would get away with it. That is, until he broke Pippin's arms in a way that could only be done so by force. Thankfully, he had been left behind in Australia despite the fight that his step-father had put up.

As like most arguments, his mother won.

Rocco, just as big and intimidating as Bruno, was unemployed and was aspiring to become a model. A career that felt to farfetched for Pippin to imagine, so he just wished his older brother good luck. Spoilt and immature, he lacks patience and is known to be lazy, yet very ill-tempered if he did not get his way.

Fortunately, he was not as abusive as Bruno, he just neglected the emotional needs of others around him and easily went out of his way to make him miserable.

He could only just wonder what was to happen once Rocco turned eighteen. His mother, would no doubt, kick him out just as she had done to Bruno.

Then, there was his least favourite.

Terrance Ballard, the very man who they got their behaviour from. At fifty-one years old, grey hairs stood out against black and his dark eyes menacing and cold; opposite of the welcoming blue eyes of his mother. He apparently worked in the government. What type of government job he worked was unknown to Pippin as the two didn't talk often, which was the excuse his mother often used for why he was so strict.

He is disciplinary, stern and hard to sway unless you are either the man's mother or his strong-willed wife despite the rocky relationship. The worse being that he seemed to approve of Bruno and Rocco's attitude towards Pippin, and would at times stir the pot which caused further bullying of the younger teen when his mother wasn't around.

The man who fathered him though, was the complete opposite of Terrance. Markus Koch, who was the man who gave his mother the opportunity of freedom. Up until the pregnancy, which produced him.

Owning a bookstore, the two had met when she had gone into his shop and the two had instantly clicked despite their age difference. Pipping is not promoting the ideas of infidelity during marriage, but from what he has heard his mum say about the man, he could tell she felt more for him than she has ever felt for Terrance.

Unfortunately, he had never met his father, and was only allowed to receive a card from the man on his birthday.

His mother had told him that in hopes of covering up her affair, and giving him a fair chance of life when it came to Pippin, she had tried to make it seem that Pippin was Terrance's. The attempt had failed though, as after two children he didn't want any more.

And that, was when she discovered that he had a vasectomy.

Even though he was a mistake, a memory of her affair, she had kept him.

She is his mother, and the only person who really cared for him.

She comforted him, and she took care of all his needs, and helped him when he wasn't in a good place mentally. So he was glad he was her only connection to the freedom she once had. Something that had lit a spark in her, and a child that she felt she could bond with. In all honesty, Anabella didn't worry about what others though when she said what her other two children meant to her. As it was the truth, and she felt the same way about her husband.

As the marriage, although not documented in a contract, was an arrangements of sorts between the parents of the two. The pressure given to her made her feel as if she had no choice, which only led to her walking down the aisle just three months after their first meeting. . As her family didn't have a cent to their name, while his did.

This resulted in a relationship that was far from happy, and so they fought although they rarely ever did have a reason to fight.

A downside about the arrangement is that a divorce was not an option, which only makes the marriage more miserable. As in the deal, Terrance had made her and her family sign a contract which would mean that every dollar he gave her parents, which happens to be a monthly allowance of ten thousand dollars, they would have to give back. Meaning being in debt forever, and working until they die.

And Anabella would be left with nothing. So, she and Pippin would be out on the streets with on the clothes on their backs as Terrance had paid for almost everything that they owned. Just like if Anabella were to die, he would likely be abandoned.

All because some man felt that Anabella was too attractive for him to let go of.

So far, in his life of fifteen years going onto sixteen, there has been only one thing that he has learnt that has stuck with him from an earlier age.

Life wasn't fair, and you just had to deal with it.

 ** _"_** ** _Pip."_**

Breathing in sharply, he jumped at the sudden noise in the quiet room and his forehead clashed against the window he had been leaning forward against. Momentarily, the slight feeling of annoyance filtered through him as his thoughts were interrupted, but he soon felt his ears burning as he heard his mother let out a small chuckle.

A sound he has not heard very often lately, not since the big move.

"Oh sweetie!" She laughed, using a hand to cover her mouth as she moved towards him.

Kneeling besides him, she let out a small sigh as her smile grew at the meeting of their eyes. "If only you focused that hard during class," she teased, tousling his already messy hair in a way that he found soothing.

"Ha, Ha," he murmured, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he positioned himself to sit straight. "Very funny," he finished.

"I got a little job for you."

* * *

The task given to him was simple, but it was mostly the fact that he had to ask for directions from strangers that made it difficult. And on the way out, he had saw that Joseph was not an option when it came to asking for directions as the young adult looked to be buddy-buddy with Rocco which only meant one thing; trouble.

All in all, any friend of Rocco always turned out to be an arsehole, who would give as much trouble to Pippin as his brother does.

Which had led to him roaming the few surrounding blocks to find the grocery store they had seen when being transported to the apartment building from the airport. But as it had been late at night, he didn't get much of a chance to see the surroundings of said store. If it wasn't for him spotting a police officer, he honestly would never have found it and was just glad that the awkward encounter only lasted less than a minute.

As it had been more of a corner store than a grocery store, it didn't have everything that was on the list that he had been given. As the fruit and vegetables were bruised quite badly, and most of the food in that particular aisle happening to be far from fresh. Really, the only good thing about the store happened to be the low price on the lollies. He had even treated himself with a chocolate bar, which he happily munched on while weaving himself through the crowded streets.

Quickly, he scurried across the road as the green hand went red, beginning to blink. Last time, although he could've most likely made it across, he had de decided to wait for the next time the green light came on for pedestrians. He had regretted it though, as he was left standing there for what he felt to be eternity.

It was also beginning to get darker, and from what he had seen in the movies, he didn't want to be out when characters start to show up.

Last night, from the window of his bedroom, he had even witnessed a fight occur. Well, that was if you could call it that.

Between a red-haired woman and a man, he couldn't see clearly though from his seventh story bedroom, the man had attempted to take off with her handback but obviously did not expect the fight that followed it. He had been in awe of it, watching as her body managed to manoeuvre around the small pocket knife which glimmered from the light of the lamp post.

Though, he knew from the moment that she had entered the building across from him that no one would have a chance against her.

Pippin had seen the Black Widow in action.

A fact that hadn't been mentioned on the way to the new family home, was that it a building owned by the billionaire of Manhattan; Tony Stark. During the invasion, many buildings had been destroyed, and two years later the man had brought the plot of land which he guessed to have been nothing but rubble and built the apartment building which stood directly opposite the Avenger's Tower.

Making a small hum, he turned into the street that he now lived in, weaving in-between the mass of people that walked the streets in order to avoid colliding with anyone. At times, feeling a bit bothered at who he assumed to be tourist blocking the pathway to stare up at the large tower. The fanny packs said it all.

At last, he entered the lobby of the building after avoiding what he guessed to be an awkward eye contact with the doorman and glanced at the front desk.

Like when he left, Rocco had been talking to Joseph, and now had moved from his spot in front of the desk to sitting on the inside of the desk just to the left of Joseph which gave his sibling a view of the entrance. Upon the sneer sent his way from Rocco, Pippin's eyes widened as he realised he had stopped walking to look at them.

"Pipsqueak."

Almost instantly, he stopped and turned towards his brother; who had used a nickname he had come to despise over time. He had learned a long time ago that ignoring Rocco- _especially when he started joining in with Bruno_ , it was something he shouldn't do. Merely standing there looking over his shoulder, Pippin stared at the brunette.

"Mum's gone out. She wants you to put all the shit away."

All Pippin felt he could do under the glare was nod, swallowing slightly as the only working elevator closed. Leaving him uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze of Joseph.


	3. Chapter Two

Almost too soon, the week had gone by.

The five days of being in the apartment, had just been him setting out his furniture the way he wanted it. He had barely managed to do so on his own, which was what made it feel like a victory once the furniture was assembled. The worst part of it all being when he discovered he had to disassemble the bed to move it to the place he wanted it.

Rocco, though, was fortunate to be on Terrance's good side, and had his suite put together by the men who delivered it.

Assembling the furniture, although a pain, gave Pippin an excuse to be in his room more than what his mum would have liked him to be.

All the furniture matched in colour, which was an ash grey shade of wood, and had a modern by simple feel to it and the layout he had chosen made the room look and feel to have more space than what was there. It also happened to be neat, and he wasn't sure how long the tidiness would last though as he wasn't exactly someone who picked up after himself.

All in all, it was much better than the room he had in Sydney; the furniture mismatched as Terrance would only spare the smallest amount of money in order to please Anabella. Which had left his room bare.

Being over the moon in joy about the new furniture, was an understatement. Especially to his mum who had helped him find the perfect suite display for him. His favourite thing in the room being the quilt cover, which was white with multiple doodle like designs of the heads of multiple dog breeds with splashes of colour.

The only thing that really bothered him, although he was grateful for the room he had received, the windows were something he wasn't too keen on. In the previous apartment, he had an inside room so the only light produced was mainly from his lamp. In this room, only two walls were proper, but as his room was in the corner, the two walls that faced the outside were just windows. He had no curtains, and he didn't know if he was going to get any as one of the terms of getting the apartment was no damaging the walls.

This included screwing or nailing anything onto the walls, or putting posters up.

That left the walls plain, and left Pippin a tad bit annoyed whenever he saw the rolled-up posters peeking out from beneath his bed. So now, after spending just half a day in his newly furnished room, it was Monday.

Which only meant one thing; school.

Being in upper Manhattan, there were only six high schools in the area, and Terrance had chosen what Pippin considers to be the worst option.

Manhattans Junior College of Science and Mathematics.

Almost instantly after hearing the name of the school, he was not looking forward to attending it.

Both science and math were a subject he struggled in, so having to do them as an elective until he graduates was a nightmare that has come true. Unfortunately, time went by quickly and he found himself sitting in the office that belonged to the school principal.

Desmond Good, a man in his fifties, was just like any stereotypical principal you would see in the movies.

Going bald, the man's remaining grey hair had been brushed over his bare scalp along with a moustache that kept Pippin distracted for the majority of the meeting as the man talked about the rules and regulations of the school. He included what was expected of him, and the consequences of ditching classes like he had done in his previous school, which had sent over his school reports which included his 'N' warnings.

Then, his mum joined them as Mr Good led them to the uniform store just down the hall.

Now that, was something he found more terrible than the fact he would be sitting through an hour of science and math.

In the past, his uniform was rather simple. Just a pair of cargo like shorts and a polo shirt with the occasional day of wearing fitted jeans, and his favourite tattered converses he managed to get away with wearing.

Now, he had a uniform that was set to wear every day. Mr Good explain the rules once more, which only lead to Pippin cursing whoever created private schools and soon he found himself cringing at himself. Staring unsurely in the mirror of the change room as he tugged on the poorly tied tie that hung loosely around his neck. Batting away the hands of his mum who eventually managed to fix the strip of fabric.

Leaving him to inspect the uniform.

Standing at a tall measurement of six foot one, the cotton trousers were raised just above his ankles showing off his plain socks. On his feet, issued by the school were simple leather slip on shoes. All a tanned colour. He had an ivory coloured blouse which had been almost perfectly tucked into his trousers and was covered with a classic blazer jacket which was a baby blue colour, with a slim tie ticked into the middle of his half-unbuttoned jacket and is patterned thin strips of tawny and baby blue.

Let's just say he felt more like a dag now than he did in his old sports uniform.

"No let's fix your hair."

His mum had continued to fuss about him, holding a hair elastic between her lips as she as she stood on her toes just to pull back his mess of curls until eventually they had been soothed back into a small bun. Not including the few ringlet like curls that framed his face.

"As I mentioned earlier, you are expected to come to school each day in this uniform and it is a must that you have your hair back for your safety during subjects such as science and physical education."

Rolling his eyes as the man continued on, he couldn't help but wonder how he would survive.

* * *

As soon as the final bell rang, he had made a run for it while at the same time, stuffing the book and pencils into the messenger bag that had been issued by the school. Which had let to Pippin receiving many looks doing this, and he ignored the shouts of the teacher about how he hadn't dismissed the class yet.

The lecture on how the bell is for the teachers and not the students echoing down the hall which only had small groups of people trickling out at a slow pace. The last thing he heard was the word detention.

Faintly, he wondered if he should be worried about that, as the school was stricter than the simple public schools he had gone to. Especially as detentions were nothing new to him. Then, after a quick stop just to get his beloved converses and his own backpack from his locker, he had ran off as if the devil was at his heels.

As it turns out, the school is funded by Tony Stark which only meant that there was more maths and science than usual.

How _good_ was that.

He had survive general maths, chemistry, technology and design as well as standard science, biology and English standard. Six classes going for seventy minutes, a full eight hours, of him doing mainly science and math with only an hour in total for the two breaks he had. More work than he has ever done is his three years of high school, and he absolutely hated it.

The teachers were even worse, and he had even gained the nickname 'Bogan' from one teacher. That was Ms Lewis, and well, he felt rather sorry for whoever married that woman.

Offended that he hadn't done any work in his chemistry lesson resulted in the white slip that was crumpled in his pocket for his mum to sign. Sure, she had said- or rather attempted, to say it in a joking tone, but her attitude towards him was poor from the moment she realised that Pippin didn't even know the first symbol of the periodic table.

The poor behaviour didn't stop with her though. With most teachers, he had been talked down to and he felt as if he had been treated unequally. Sure, he wasn't the brightest in the subjects he had to do but that doesn't mean he is an idiot. Rocco, although not really included in his school life that day, had looked to be having the same issues as he had been sent to Mr Goods' office for calling the teacher a 'simple bitch' which Pippin had heard echoing down the corridor lined with metal lockers.

He had even joined Pippin that lunch, not saying anything which was out of character for him other than taking Pippin's carton of strawberry milk.

Compared to the other students, he was pretty much uneducated.

He felt like a complete idiot.

Huffing in annoyance, eh punched the code into the apartment buildings' entrance and rushed in. Peeking at his watch, he saw that it had taken him just under twenty minutes to get back to his home. Thirty minutes shorter than the cab ride they had taken to get to the school.

All he has to do now is hop into an elevator, and he'll be home. In his rom. Away from the world.

After a long day of school, he had learnt very few things.

One, he is now known as a Bogan due to a very snobbish chemistry teacher.

Two, he was basically uneducated compared to the other students.

Three, he learnt that he never should have talked badly about his old schools.

And four, the principal had sent his mum home with a rather large pile of school work to catch up on, as well as a few tests he needed to do under the supervision of his mum.

It was official; he hated Mr Good.

And that stupid school.

But at least he got to see Rocco be punched by Joseph. Apparently, he had been making some pretty crude remarks about a girl to Joseph who had realised that Rocco had been talking about his sister.

Once in the apartment, he had a surprisingly rushed conversation with his mum over the phone as she was at a location unknown to him, he had locked the door to his room and settled at his desk. Really, he had no other option but to do homework as everything he did in his free time was gone.

The only remote to the TV was gone, as was the family laptop, the portable gaming devices, his graphic novels and the few books he owned. His least favourite being the Wi-Fi password being changed and having to rely on the many textbooks he had gotten from the school library. Rocco had also received the same treatment.

Shifting through the sheets, he debated what would be better to do. Wanting to start on the hardest assignment so it would be over, but they were all just as bad as each other. He even had to do an essay, which could be no shorter that five pages. It was English, which he also happened to bad at.

It was an essay, which he had no idea how to do. Sure, it sounded pretty simple but there was just one problem; he has never met his grandmother on his mother's side, and the only remaining grandmother, who technically wasn't his, disliked him so much he is only referred to as 'the bastard' whenever she happened to be around.

Being brought up being taught not to lie, he was not going to go very good on writing how much he loves her.

The thought of spending time with woman nearly making him gag.

After another round of searching for what to start on, he had settled with an assignment for history. At his old school, he was often interested in the history lessons although he didn't put any effort in actually doing the work, so he thought he would give it a go. The work, which was no exactly as modern as he would have liked, was focusing on the origins and course of the French Revolution. It wasn't too hard to get the basic information on the revolution from the textbook, especially seeing as he had a smaller textbook based on the topic as well as the syllabus textbook.

In the span of an hour, he had managed to get down at least two pages worth of work. It didn't seem like much, especially with how messy his scrawled handwriting was, but he was proud of himself. His mum, no doubt, would be happy with the effort he put in seeing how quickly he could lose his concentration.

To be fair, he had only lost it because he heard his mum's keys clashing together which signalled that she had just walked through the door.

* * *

He felt his eyes widen as his mother's smile grew.

He had not been expecting that

Just a moment ago, Rocco had been demanding his electronics be handed back to him when she had shared the news. She had gotten a job. All thanks to Terrance, who wanted nothing but to keep her cooped inside since the discovery of her last pregnancy.

The man who funnily enough, hated people being disorganised, had left behind his work case which contained the documents he needed for an introductory meeting at his knew place of work which happens to be right across the street; the Avengers Tower. This had led to her having to take the case over which led to the job interview.

It happened to be pure luck.

Just before leaving the building after taking the brief case to Terrance, she had decided to have a quick morning tea in the café that was in the lobby of the building where a woman had joined her.

That woman just happening to be Pepper Potts. The one, and the only, fiancé of Tony Stark.

According to his mum, she was a very kind person. Just like a lot of people from England, don't mind the stereotype, and they had apparently clicked like two girls in a school yard. And just like any other woman, they gossiped about anything that had been seen in the media. In the end of their chatting session, a job offer had come up.

At the chance of having a source of independence, she took the opportunity. Thus, making her the new personal assistant of Pepper, as the previous one had been fired due to being rather inappropriate towards the team.

Pippin was proud, but he did feel fear become known as he thought about Terrance's reaction. The man would not be happy to hear this. Terrance, being able to be the only one with a steady income gave him power over her actions and decisions.

"She would like us to join her for dinner tonight."

"You mean we get to meet Iron Man?" Just like any other teenage boy, Rocco sounded excited at the thought of meeting the hero. Even Pippin can't deny the fact he was excited, even if the man was the reason for his misery during his classes. "Well, no. He is currently away on special business. She has booked us a reservation for the five of us at a lovely restaurant I read about," their mum replied.

"The five of us?" Pippin interrupted just before she went to speak once more.

"Yes. Terrance is also invited to attend dinner as well."

He stiffened at that.

"No, I need you boys to get ready. We are leaving in under an hour; Pip gets the bathroom first as he is quicker."


	4. Chapter Three

His mum had dressed up more than she has ever done in the past. Wearing a dress that she had brought back in Rome a couple of years back, and it was the first time he had ever seen her wear it.

It was white in colour, which only made her look tanner and her auburn hair seemed to have a certain glossiness to it.

The dress had balloon sleeves, which Anabella jokes about her bringing back into style, with lace cut-outs which were detailed in an eyelet design that lined the hemlines. On her feet, she wore a pair of silver kitten heels which she obsessed over and a matching silver clutch, that had simply been brought at a garage sale.

A garage sale, or an event in his mother's cases, were something that she took him to in order to experience the 'ordinary' life. To experience day-to-day occasions that she had when she was his age.

Pippin, had also done his best to clean up nicely to please his mum. Wearing the only pair of jeans, he owned that didn't have any holes or rough patches, which were light grey in colour, and he had on a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The finishing touch being a simple black tie which his mum had taken from Terrance for the night.

Rocco was also dressed in a similar manner, and would have been matching if it wasn't for the different colours worn and that he had a blazer on. Not having a suit like Terrance had, Rocco had also done his best to please his favourite parent.

Who happened to be an arse.

Terrance, although not happy with the news of the job- which had been expected, dressed to impress the future wife of his boss. Wearing an Armani suit, his hands constantly fiddling with the gold watch on his wrist and giving the occasional twist to his wedding band as he huffed. At times, muttering how they deserve be taken to their table from the very moment they entered the entrance area.

But to be fair, it was rather busy, and people were actually getting seated pretty quickly. But the man was just too impatient, and apparently, too important to be standing in line like everyone else. As Endymion, is currently the top restaurant in Manhattan which drew in people from all over.

Serving only Greek food, which happens to be his mums' favourite food. So, if he could, Pippin would have told the man to shut up. Tonight, was a night he didn't want to be ruined.

Soon, ten minutes had passed, being spent in the line until they reached the servers station. With the quick mention of Pepper, they had been whisked away by the dark-haired waitress. "Try not to be too picky," he heard his mum say softly to him as they approached the table.

Pippin could just hear the waver of her voice.

* * *

Despite the occasional murmur of disapproval coming from Terrance, the nigh so far was going good. Pepper, just like she was portrayed to the media, was a kind woman yet could be straight to the point. An example of this was when his step-day had been complaining about not actually working alongside with the very man who ran the company. The man, obviously thinking too much of himself.

Pepper replied with a simple 'quote' that Tony apparently tends to say.

 _"_ _Newbies are only good for one thing; and that is for messing with them. Not to mention the coffee runs."_

Pippin had choked on his drink, watching as Terrance's face flushed slightly.

As for the meals, it was quite an experiment for him as he had never had Greek food before. His mum, shared the fact that he was a picky eater when it came to trying new things with Pepper, so when he was eyeing the pan-fried halloumi that Pepper had ordered as an entrée, she had shared with him.

He was glad for this, as he had enjoyed the new taste of halloumi, and for the sake of his mother Pippin had eaten very little of the roasted tomatoes with the basil paste served with olive oil lemon sauce. Which he, of course, did not wish to try again.

For main had had ordered Makaronia Me Thalassina as he had always enjoyed a good serving of seafood. It was a spaghetti dish with prawns, scallops and mussels that had been removed from the shells and a tomato salsa sauce with a second light and creamy sauce.

If he wasn't in such a formal atmosphere, he was sure he would've licked the dish clean.

At times, when his mum was distracted, he would allow himself to swipe up some of the leftover sauce with his finger.

As for dessert, he was finishing of a dish of Loukoumades and Pepper had been able to convince the waiters to have some ice cream served with it. _Loukoumades_ are pretty much just honey balls of dough deep fried until golden, then drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon but due to his nut allergies he had to hold back on the ground walnuts.

The whole dish was pretty much made up of sugar that wasn't natural and despite his odd purchase of chocolates, the desert went against his usually healthy diet.

"We should get together again sometime soon Bella, this has been such a great time. Maybe at The Pearl? Same time next week? I imagine Pip won't mind- seafood seems to be his favourite."

Not use to hearing his mum's nickname coming from someone else made him blush slightly.

"And if Tony isn't busy, I'm sure I can convince him to come."

"I don't think that will work out. I predict that my schedule will be getting busier," Terrance interrupted, Pippin gave a small snort of annoyance at this and he could see Rocco roll his eyes and giving a small huff of his own. Despite the closeness between the father and son, Rocco would do anything to be able to speak to the billionaire.

"Well, I'm sure Bella won't mind. The boys could come too and you can do whatever is planned for that evening," Pepper replied. "Mum, I want to go," Rocco said, a tone of whining in his voice and Pippin started nodding and saying he agreed with Rocco- _for once in his life_.

After a small, but still very embarrassing dispute, between the two adults of the Ballard family it had been settled. Terrance was only going to let her go if the only child she had brought was Pippin. The reason for this is Pippin's apparently already corrupted mind, and he didn't want Rocco to be influenced by the man. This had caused a rather rough kick to his shin from beneath the table and a sneer coming from his brother.

Pepper, had thankfully pulled the famous 'bathroom' excuse to stay out of it but that didn't change the way he felt from the attention that they were receiving. getting a hug and a kiss from the red head as a goodbye, he wondered what their next encounter would be like. But soon, his thoughts wouldn't block out the screaming of his mum.

Arguing for the rights she should have, as she didn't want to feel as if she were a hostage in her own home.

While Terrance argued with his most famous accusation; her sneaking around once more. Then, if she had another bastard child, he would drown it. Pippin felt like a coward than for not going to defend her, and instead chose to distract himself. Listening to music that filled the room through his Bluetooth speaker, and he sat at his desk finishing off the details of his current artwork of the person he admired.

It had been from a scene from an old home video he had watched with his Pawpaw, the grandfather on his mum's side. At some point, it had gotten a glitch which caused it to freeze often and he could only remember one still image of her that was still fresh in his mind.

It was her standing with her back to the camera, the surroundings blurry as the camera focused on her as her auburn hair blew in the wind. It was when she was his age, visiting the Snowy Mountains for her birthday.

That was really the only thing he knew about the video.

He had tuned out the background noise, the only thing reaching his ears was the soft home of song covers done with pianos. That was until _it_ happened. A resounding slap bounced throughout the large apartment, and a sound of the body hitting the floor only confirmed what he just heard. That bastard, the supposedly good mannered man of the house, had hit his mother.

Different things happened at one. His desk shook violently, sending the few pencils he had on the desk to the floor. His music turned to static as the lights flickered. The water bottle on his bedside table from the previous night bursting, and the water splattering onto the window. The plastic was nothing but small shards. Lastly, his chair had moved back with a screech until he sat just a few feet shy of the door.

Then everything stopped.

He couldn't hear anything when his breathing went back to normal, and that scared him.

Pippins eyes burned with unshed tears as his knuckles went white from gripping the material of his sweatpants, and his ears strained to hear anything that went on. It felt like eternity, but soon the footsteps of his mother running past his bedroom door were heard while the front door of the apartment slammed closed.

Still, he did not leave his room.

He did not offer her any comfort.

Looking back at his room, he drew in a sharp breath. Selfishly, he could only think of himself as he saw the mess he created. Thinking of his freakishness.

That night, he did something he hadn't done in years.

He cried himself to sleep, and he could only dream of what it would be like to be normal.

To have a happy family, to have a happy life.


	5. Chapter Four

The next morning was worse than the night before.

His eyes were stinging, and his nose was blocked, and the memories were only brought back to him as he felt the shards of plastic poking at his skin. Only a single peace having broken through the skin and into one of his toes.

 _He deserved to feel like crap._

His mum hadn't woken him up, which was unusual for her to do so on a school day. That left him with little time to spare, so he spent his time getting ready for school. Having a shower, and taking his time to brush his curls until they were straight and damp, before having multiple attempts on putting his hair back in a bun.

It wasn't as good as what his mum does, but it'll have to do.

After all, he couldn't be a mamma's boy forever.

Like anyone in their life, he would have to stop being coddled and to leave the nest.

Then, he prepared his bag. Not bothering to attempt smuggling his shoes in his backpack he loaded the textbooks he would need in the day as well as his notebooks and pencil case. He felt robotic, even more so when he dressed himself into the formal looking uniform. The knot of his tie was only accomplished after watching a YouTube tutorial repeatedly.

Once ready, it took him a few moments for him to have enough confidence to leave the room. Leaving his bag in the room, knowing that he would have to come back to do his teeth once more, he walked at a slow pace until he emerged into the kitchen. Witnessing a scene that was an everyday thing.

Yet, it didn't feel the same.

Anxiety clawed at his stomach, the feeling of uneasiness in him making itself known as he entered the kitchen and dining area.

The glass top table, as usual, had three people around it.

Terrance at the head of the table with his back to the window, and a newspaper blocking others view of him. He would no doubt, be sipping on a mug of coffee while having a slice of toast.

Rocco in his seat, eyes downcast but more miserable with his phone in front of the plate leaning up against the jug of orange juice; a game of soccer was on it. Knowing Rocco, it would most likely be FC Barcelona. A bowl of cornflakes in front of him, and from where he stood Pippin could see the heavy layer of sugar that had been added.

Then in his spot, was his favourite thing to eat. How his mother managed to make it for him every day, he does not know.

Four slices of sourdough bread topped with seasoned scrambled eggs, pieces of bacon, spears of skinny asparagus with shredded cheese sprinkled on top. Besides it, was a glass of milk, and he hoped that Rocco didn't swap his usual organic milk for full cream milk.

His eyes then strayed, towards his mother who sat at the other end of the table.

He didn't bother to take in details like he usually did, instead his eyes zeroed onto the bruise on her cheek. It was an ugly mix of black and purple, which stood out against her light skin. A cut on her lip, most likely from the ring on Terrance's finger, only making her look worse. She soon gave him a smile, a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"You cleaned up real nice Pip," she said, her hand reaching out to have the sleeve of his blazer a small tug. He couldn't meet her eyes after that, so he sat down in his seat and begun to eat.

Silence had returned once more, only to be broken by the occasional page turning of the newspaper, a spoon hitting the edge of the dish and the small crunch of toast.

There was no joking conversations between him and his mum, Rocco wasn't constantly stomping on his toes and Terrance wasn't complaining about whatever was in the newspaper. It was horrible. Eventually, he was no longer hungry and he only had one bit left on the first slice. He felt as if he was going to be sick.

Not bothering to excuse himself, he had left the table; retreating to the comfort of his own room where he had gone and crawled beneath his desk. Although childish, it was something he often did as it had stuck with him throughout his childhood. The small confined space giving him a slight sense of protection and peace; as if he had left reality.

A few minutes into this, he heard a small knock on his door. Only his mother knocked, as she was really the only one who bothered with giving him privacy.

She didn't wait for an answer, and entered. Finding him almost instantly, and moved down to his level; leaning softly on his side.

"I'm fine baby. Everything's going to be alright."

Despite her attempt of calming him down, his anxiety had one. Her soothing words doing nothing to help, as he knew that as long as they lived with Terrance nothing would be _alright_.

* * *

Although he had put in an effort to be organised compared to every other day of the week, he was late to school. The entrance gates had been locked, meaning that he and Rocco had to wait for their mum to call the school to have someone let them in. Afterwards, they had been sent to class, after Pippins phone had been confiscated due to having his earbuds in.

He suffered due to that, algebra was of course a terrible subject to learn. The most annoying thing about not being able to block out the world was his ability to hear what was being said about him. A group of males who sat behind him in a group discussing that he had apparently flirted with one of the guy's girlfriend. Pippin scoffed at that, he could barely speak to strangers, let alone girls.

The name bogan was used once more.

This continued throughout the day; him being outed and talked about. Now, escalating to him grouping the girl when the halls were empty. But at least Rocco had made friends, as his brother had been welcomed into a group of boys. All of course, mean looking. From the looks of it, there had been some type of initiation to get into the group and that was to humiliate someone.

That someone being him.

He didn't see Rocco approaching his table, as Pippin was figuring out who the girl was that had just taken a seat at his table. She was strange at the very least, in his opinion, and was squawking about god knows what. Now he believes that she was just a distraction, as she had laughed like a hyena from the moment he had the spaghetti Bolognese spilt over him and she had retreated to the table Rocco had come from.

A table that all gave his brother a high-five for what he had done.

His anxiety from that morning coming back at full force as the crowded lunch hall laughed at what had happened.

As it was just a harmless prank, in the eyes of Mr Good, when he went to report what had happened on instructions of his mother in case of bullying, he was just given a set of uniform from the second-hand bin. For the rest of the day, he had worn a blouse a size too big and an itchy blazer, as well as ill-fitting pants that constantly rode up his shins while his own uniform was in a plastic bag in his locker.

Not only that, he continued to find small chunks of Bolognese in his hair that had come loose and he smelt of the oily tomato sauce.

He just wanted to disappear.

Snickers followed him in the hallway, shoves and shoulder barges were given by Rocco and his friends and girls giggled. None of this would've happened at his old school, as believe it or not, he was a likeable guy.

Eventually, hours later, the school bell rang and his first stop was to get his phone before he made his way back to his assigned locker. Rocco was there, and he was waiting. Leaning against the wall of lockers with his arms crossed over his chest, he made Pippin feel highly intimidated. Thinking back to the days where Bruno would torment him, and at times, beat him whenever their mum was not around.

Out of habit, he mumbled a hello as he put in the combination, hiding the code from the prying eyes of his brother before pulling the heavy bag out and carelessly stuffed in his books and pencil case in the backpack before swinging the bag onto his back. The plastic bag hanging from his loose grip.

"You better not tell mum what happened."

His voice was harsh, more so than usual and he could only guess it was because of the boys that stood a couple of metres away, all watching the encounter. "I can't lie to her," he responded, feeling slightly embarrassed at how small his voice had sounded. "Do I have to repeat myself?" He flinched as his brother growled, his fist banging against the locker. "Back off Rocco," he said, this time his voice becoming slightly higher in pitch.

"How about- _no_."

"Giving you trouble Rocky?" One of the boys called out, leaving him feeling trapped as the boys moved towards them.

"Tell your dogs to back off."

Wrong thing to say.

Rocco shoved him back, and his back collided harshly with the lockers. Leaving him wincing as he felt the lock dig into his back, most likely to leave a bruise. Pippin, who for some reason felt a surge of courage, pushed back.

A look of anger formed on his face, and Pippin felt as if he could scream.

* * *

They had dragged him to the natatorium, in an area of the school that had been closed due to renovations. The students who saw this, had chosen to ignore them. Some even having the look of pity as he twisted in their hold to get out. Everyone knew what was going to happen, but no one bothered to help him. He was _scared_ , and the look in his brother's eyes was only getting darker.

He couldn't describe what he saw, but if wasn't far off from madness.

The whole time he was being taken to god knows where, he followed behind the boys that dragged Pippin, smiling and laughing along with the boys who held an arm each. Bruno hadn't ever look like Rocco did then, even in his most violent days.

Before they had reached the chosen destination, Pippin had started begging for them to let go. That he wouldn't tell his mum when Rocco started to coo at him, mocking him about their mum not coming to the rescue while the doors were opened loudly and he could smell the strong scent of chlorine.

There would be no good outcome, from the very moment they closed and locked the door.

And that was when the beating started.

They kicked at him, they felt endless as they were all aimed at his stomach which left him breathless.

Hands pulled at his hair, and on occasion fingers clawed at his scalp.

Punches were thrown at his face, and a foot at one stage had collided with his cheek.

At one stage, he could feel a kick being delivered to his cheek. It wasn't a powerful kick, but it did hurt.

Towards the end, Rocco had straddled his chest. Looking down at Pippin with glee as he used his own tie to strangle Pippin.

He could no longer fight back, as pain flared aggressively as he struggled to get away.

He was terrified.

Then, after what felt to be hours, they stopped and his body had been greeted by the cold water of the pool as they laughed at him.

He _couldn't_ swim, and Rocco knew that. Thrashing, he didn't hear them leave as he could barely hold his head above the water while his feet kicked to reach the bottom. His hands reaching up to grab anything that could get him out of the water.

In the end, it was the pressure building up in the back of his mind that would help him. having a constant war with himself for his abilities, he felt safe to know that they could at least save him. If he left, his mum wouldn't go on for much longer. She had even admitted that without him, she would've had to let go of life.

Depression just happened to run in the family.

Pippin strained, spots of darkness crawling into his vision as a painful tingling sensation claimed his limbs as he felt himself leave the water. The last thing he could remember, were the sobs tearing from his throat and a single thought.

 _His brother tried to kill him._


End file.
